Category: 2024 London+

Trip Wrap Up

Before I get into the gory details of the trip, a couple more photos to share…

Below are some lists I compiled during the trip. Most are ranked in no particular order; the exception would be if a list is numbered.

Favorite Experiences

• A return to Byron House (and spending time with Mary & Tony)
• Visiting Ruth & Kent
• Hard Rock Cafe Tour
• Stamford Bridge (Chelsea Women’s Soccer)
• Lunchtime performance at the Royal Opera House
• Big Ben Tour
• The Who at The Royal Albert Hall
• Bach’s St. John’s Passion at St. Paul’s Cathedral
• Mini Day at Brooklands Museum
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
• The Ladder of Kotor Hike
• The Dave Matthews Band at The Royal Albert Hall

Favorite Places Visited (thanks for the suggestion Kait!)

1. Qatar
   • Visit Ruth & Kent
   • Itinerary
   • Food
2. Montenegro
   • Ladder of Kotor Hike
   • Perast
   • Train Ride to Bar
3. Bulgaria
   • Hotel
   • Monastery
   • Opera
4. Bosnia and Herzegovina
   • Mostar
   • Bobsled Track
5. Romania
   • Peles Castle
   • Transylvania
   • Opera
6. Slovakia
   • Hotel
   • Good for Walking
7. Albania
   • Low ranking likely due to my poor choice of locations to visit

I excluded the U.K. and Austria from the list. The U.K. dominated my time, and I only spent one full day in Austria.

Favorite Accommodation

• Byron House, Harrow on the Hill
• Underwood Manor, Doha
• Art ‘Otel, Sofia
• Morrol’s Boutique Hotel, Bratislava

Favorite Meals

• Welcome Dinner hosted by Mary & Tony
• Georgian Restaurant with Ruth & Kent in Doha
• Thai Restaurant with Ruth & Kent in Doha
• Turkish Restaurant with Ruth & Kent in Doha
• Pre-concert Dinner hosted by Mary & Tony
• Pre-Byron Talk Tea hosted by Mary & Tony
• Dinner at The White Horse with Mary & Tony
• Baguette sandwiches from Wenzel’s

You can probably spot a trend here! I rarely went to restaurants when I was on my own. I guess I find dining with myself rather boring! Undoubtedly a lost opportunity on my part, but it wasn’t a huge priority for me. A lot of times I’d just grab something from a grocery store or a takeaway place. And I had my own kitchen in Byron House.

Let’s Crunch the Numbers

Below are a bunch of statistics from this trip and all of my other winter escapes. This is where my weirdness shines! Feel free to scroll through quickly as your eyes begin to glaze over!

Countries Visited

I traveled to 9 countries on this trip, 7 for the first time. I have now visited 88 countries. I’m so lucky to have had the opportunity to pursue this passion. I don’t take it for granted. Below is a breakdown of visited countries by continent (and the % of countries I’ve been to on each continent):

• Africa: 3 (6%) – planning on increasing this count next winter!
• Antarctica: 0 (0%) – still hoping to make this my 100th country (in 2027?)
• Asia: 21 (47%)
• Europe: 35 (73%)
• North America: 19 (83%)
• Oceania: 2 (14%)
• South America: 8 (67%)

Trip Length

1. 2024 London: 108 days
2. 2023 Caribbean: 100 days
3. 2019 South America: 77 days
4. 2022 Hawaii: 66 days (cut short due to high costs!)
5. 2020 Europe: 33 days
6. 2020 South America: 30 days (cut short due to Covid)

Trip Cost

Total

1. 2023 Caribbean
2. 2022 Hawaii
3. 2019 South America
4. 2024 London
5. 2020 Europe
6. 2020 South America

Per Day

1. 2022 Hawaii (23% higher than second place S. America; what a surprise!)
2. 2019 South America (skewed higher by Galapagos Islands and Easter Island)
3. 2023 Caribbean
4. 2020 South America
5. 2020 Europe (skewed lower due to the use of frequent flyer miles for the transatlantic flights)
6. 2024 London (lower due to a) the use of frequent flyer miles for the transatlantic flights, b) visiting Balkan countries in the winter)

Steps

Total

1. 2024 London: 1.68 million (767 miles!)
2. 2023 Caribbean: 1.32 million
3. 2019 South America: 1.09 million
4. 2022 Hawaii: 1.07 million
5. 2020 Europe: 550 thousand
6. 2020 South America: 440 thousand

Per Day

1. 2022 Hawaii: 16.2 thousand
2. 2020 Europe: 16.1 thousand
3. 2024 London: 15.5 thousand (redeemed myself after last year’s embarrassing performance!)
4. 2020 South America: 14.5 thousand
5. 2019 South America: 14.4 thousand
6. 2023 Caribbean: 13.2 thousand

2024 Extremes

• Most: 31.0 thousand in Bucharest
• Least: 1.5 thousand on the day after my arrival in London

Postcards

I mailed 8 postcards to Oliver on this trip (from all of the countries I visited except Austria; I was only there one full day, a Saturday). One is still in transit; below are the mailing times for each of the 7 received (thanks for your assistance in documenting this (and promoting my dorkiness!) Holly, Mike & Ray!):

1. United Kingdom: 8 days
2. Bosnia and Herzegovina: 16 days (this surprised me; I would have expected Sarajevo to be one of the slowest)
3. Montenegro: 18 days
4. Romania: 21 days
5. Qatar: 22 days (this surprised me too; by how long it took!)
6. Slovakia: 23 days (the postcard wasn’t thrown in the trash at the post office after all!)
7. Bulgaria: 25 days

I kind of have a feeling that Albania will windup being the slowest, but maybe they’ll end up making me eat my words!

Planes, Trains & Buses

• Planes: 20 flights totaling 26,026 miles (the circumference of Earth is 24,901 miles)
  • Longest: Heathrow to O’Hare on 25 April
  • Shortest: O’Hare to Dane County Regional (Madison) on 25 April
• Trains: 3 trips in Bosnia and Montenegro (plus several rides in and around London!)
• Buses: 5 trips in Austria, Slovakia, Montenegro and Albania (plus several rides on the SL9 to and from Heathrow!)

Trip Map

The trip map, which is linked on the 2024 London+ homepage, is up to date.

Favorite Pictures

I snapped close to 4,000 photos on the trip. Here are a few of my favorites…

Well, that about does it! Please let me know if you have any suggestions for things to add to my lists, or photos I’ve overlooked.

Thank you so much for following along. I hope you’ll join me again next year!

(Spoiler Alert: Mary & Tony have gratuitously offered me the use of their flat again next year, so I’ll be making a return visit to London! My mission in 2025 will be to use London as a base to visit Africa. Can’t wait!)

Tuesday, April 23 – Harrow on the Hill

I’ll be remaining on Hill for the penultimate day of my winter escape.

First up is a lunchtime music performance by a Harrow School student at St. Mary’s Church.

It was a pleasure to be in attendance for Mr. Chan’s performance. He played beautifully, and rarely looked at his sheet music! The concert lasted 30 minutes, and there were about a dozen of us lucky enough to be in attendance.

This evening Mary, Tony and I walked around the corner to have dinner at The White Horse pub.

This was a fun! I was happy that Mary & Tony were able to join me for a night out before my stay on the Hill come to an end.

Wednesday, April 24 – Harrow on the Hill

I spent the day preparing for tomorrow’s departure – cleaning the flat, and packing up my stuff. Pretty exciting, I know!

But I’ll be ending my stay in London on a (very) high note! I’m heading back to The Royal Albert Hall tonight to see…

I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I booked it back in September. And once I bought this ticket, my departure window became very small, because I also wanted to do the Crazylegs walk in Madison this coming Saturday, the 27th.

So, how coincidental (fortunate) is it that the band is back in London during my stay? I’m lucky!

Since I have the poster from the ’10 show, it seemed logical that I should also buy tonight’s concert poster too, right?

Sidenote:

Sidenote No. 2: Coincidentally, just three days ago it was announced that The Dave Matthews Band will be a 2024 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Congratulations. Well deserved! (There was a chant of Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame by the crowd during a break between songs)

I got back to the flat around 12:30am. A little late, but well worth it! A great finish to this year’s wonderful winter escape in London!

Thursday, April 25 – transit from London to Madison

After my late night, it’s fortunate that my flight didn’t depart today until 1pm. But since I had bags to check, I decided to get to Heathrow early, leaving the flat a little after 9am to catch the SL9. I’m loving this bus!

The United flight is on a 767 and I booked Economy Plus for the trip. The cost of the one way trip was $329 + 66k miles. Compare that to my one way business class fare when I traveled here from the States: $6 +80k miles. That’s the difference between London travel in early January versus late April. I’m telling you, winter is the time to visit!

The flight to Chicago was scheduled for a little over 9 hours, but we ended up landing at O’Hare around 45 minutes early ( a lesser than normal headwind?). My entertainment of choice during the flight was to binge watch the first few episodes of The Sopranos first season. A nice diversion (and thankfully unedited for airplane viewing; I wouldn’t have watched it if it was). Now I can’t get its theme song out of my mind (You woke up this morning…)!

I know I’ve talked in the past about the benefits of having Global Entry. Well, it was on full display today at O’Hare. There was a massive queue for the normal immigration stations, but I was all by myself at Global Entry. Beautiful! And my bags were there waiting for me when I exited immigration. Spectacular! All of this speed was rather dulled however by the fact that I had a four hour layover! Oh well…

Travel Note: My Global Entry was set to expire this past January. I applied for renewal last May though, and paid the fee at that time. However, for whatever reason, as of this writing, my application is still being processed. Thankfully, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has acknowledged this backlog and has therefore granted Global Entry access to those of us who have applied for renewal, paid the fee, and are awaiting a decision.

It was a beautiful day in Chicago, so I ended up spending much of my late afternoon layover time outside, in the area around the Hilton Hotel at the airport.

My flight landed in Madison around 9:30pm (3:30am in London), and from there I grabbed a Lyft to the house. (thanks for the airport pickup offer Kari; I would have felt guilty though, having you make that late night run)

Well! This was another amazing winter adventure! And quite the difference from the manic pace of last year, right? I really enjoyed having a base from which I could make short out-and-back excursions. Thank you Mary & Tony for providing me with that option.

And thanks to all of you for once again following along. It means a lot to me. And I really enjoy your feedback; whether it be by comments on this site, texts, emails, or conversations. You inspire me to keep this going!

I’ll be posting one more entry in the next couple days. It will include trip stats, lists, and some favorite photos. Guaranteed to bore you to death!

Friday, April 19 – transit from Tirana to London

My flight is at 10:30 this morning. Due to the rush hour factor, and Tirana’s ugly traffic, the hotel staff recommended that I leave for the airport at 7:30. There is a shuttle bus option that departs from a point near to the hotel at a cost of 400 lek, but its schedule doesn’t accommodate my itinerary very well. So I ended up taking a taxi at a cost of 3,000 lek ($30). It killed me! But I survived. The ride took 40 minutes.

I’m flying Ryanair. I usually don’t go with a discount carrier; in this case though the price was irresistible. Including the extra fees I paid for an exit row seat and overhead bin space, the total cost for the one way flight was $61. The only drawback is that the flight landed at London Stansted Airport, which is north of the city and required a train ride into the capital.

The Tirana airport is well organized. I especially liked the automated readers in the departure hall for U.S. passport holders (plus a few other countries that issue biometric passports). I thereby avoided the queue for the manual passport check, which was pretty long!

Travel Note: Like the Italians, the Albanians seem to have mastered the art of cutting in line. Not quite on the level of the Italians, but close. And it’s annoying!

The nonstop flight lasted 3 hours, and the 737 was full. (In hindsight, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to be sitting in the exit row of a Boeing airplane!) The train from Stansted to Liverpool Street station took 50 minutes and cost £23. From there, I grabbed the Metropolitan Line back to Harrow on the Hill.

This evening I attended a talk at the Harrow School commemorating the 200th anniversary of the poet Lord Byron’s death. Byron was a student at the school in the early 19th century, and arguably one of their most famous alums.

Prior to the talk though, Mary and Tony invited a few people in for a proper English Tea, with delicious sandwiches, scones, and cupcakes. It was wonderful. Thank you Mary & Tony!

The talk was followed by a drinks reception in the Old Speech Room Gallery. A fun evening!

Saturday, April 20 – Harrow on the Hill

I’ve always wanted to attend a play at the historic Old Vic Theatre. Well, tonight it is finally going to happen!

The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat theater located near Waterloo Station. It was established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal Victoria Palace.

Travel Note: I use a website called Theatre Monkey for seat location tips. Very handy if you ever plan on attending a show in London.

Sunday, April 21 – Harrow on the Hill

There is more of Lord Byron on today’s agenda. This afternoon the Harrow Hill Trust is sponsoring a walk entitled Mad, Bad & Dangerous To Know, George Gordon Byron (Lord Byron, 1788-1824).

Following the one hour walk, Mary & Tony invited about 20 folks over to the house (Byron House) for tea and cakes. A lovely ending to a fun Byron weekend!

Monday, April 22 – Harrow on the Hill

I’m down to the last three days of my trip, and I have a fairly busy day planned in the city.

Many categories of science and technology are represented in the auction: including globes, microscopes, sundials, cameras, telescopes, and more. A link to the auction is here.

My next stop is The National Gallery, where I’m going to check out a new exhibition.

Entry to the exhibition was at no charge. However, I booked a timed ticket to enter The National gallery (also at no charge), thereby avoiding the line outside.

Well worth the visit. Caravaggio’s use of light amazes me!

And while I was at the Gallery, I absolutely had to stop and take a look at a couple of works by my favorite artist, Claude Monet…

I’m attending another play tonight. I had some time to kill though, so I just did some walking around the Charing Cross area.

I have mixed feelings about the production. I was very long; 3 hours plus a 20 minute interval. And the subject matter wasn’t all that interesting to me. But it was the kind of play where the actors’ talent is on full display. And Clarkson and Cox delivered (as you would expect). Especially the former (in my opinion).

Wednesday, April 17 – transit from Shkoder to Tirana

I’m back on the bus (Gus; apologies to Paul Simon!) this morning; traveling to Albania’s capital, Tirana. According to the online timetable, a bus to Tirana departs every 30 minutes from the stop in the city center where I was dropped off on the ride from Kotor a couple days ago. The hotel check out time is 10:30, so I’m thinking I’ll grab the 11am departure. A nice leisurely morning.

It’s raining though, and since the bus stop has no cover, I decided to just wait out the weather at the hotel and do some work on a journal entry. My wait wasn’t long. By 11:15 I was on my way to the bus stop.

However, 11:30 came and went, with no departure. We eventually hit the road around noon. I think the lateness was due to the driver waiting for the bus to fill up with passengers. It was 2/3 full when we left. The trip took 2 1/2 hours and cost 400 lek.

The regional bus “station” in Tirana is again just a stop on a main thoroughfare; in this case located outside of the city center. Traffic in the area was brutal, and there were no taxis around, so I just decided to walk to my hotel (located in the center). That took 90 minutes.

The walk wasn’t very photogenic, but I do have one image to share…

I did go out for a little walk around the neighborhood, no photos though unfortunately. Nothing really popped out at me.

Thursday, April 18 – Tirana

As you can probably tell from yesterday’s write up, my enthusiasm has waned a bit as this trip concludes. And that has continued this morning, but I’m still going to head out and roam about some.

But first…

I started the day with motivation issues, but still managed to do 22k steps worth of wandering!

Albania Notes

• The population of Albania is 2.8 million. The largest city is Tirana at 400k. The population of Shkoder is 88k.
• For not being a super big city, the traffic in Tirana is ugly.
• I think my choice of places to visit in Albania was not the best. Going to the coast or the mountains would have been better. Based on my schedule though, and preferred method of transit, these two inland cities were my best options.
• As in most of the eastern European places I’ve visited this winter, there is a lot of smoking in Albania.
• The people I encountered here were very nice. An example: I stopped at a kiosk in Shkoder to buy a postcard. The cost was 20 lek (crazy cheap), but the smallest denomination bill I had was 500 lek (~$5). The vendor didn’t have change, yet offered to just let me take the card and come back later when I had change to pay him. Very generous, but I didn’t take him up on it. I did come back the next day though, when I had change, and bought the card.

Monday, April 15 – transit from Kotor to Shkoder, Albania

This is my 150th Journal Entry. Kind of a milestone, I guess? Whoo hoo!

I’m taking the bus this morning to Albania. The departure is 8am, so I won’t have time for breakfast. The hotel provided me with a takeaway bag though. Thank you!

And this time, in order to get the best views, I planned ahead and sat on the correct side of the bus. Brilliant!

We then boarded the bus, drove for a minute, and got off again for the check at the Albanian border.

The bus trip from Kotor to Shkoder took about 4 hours, of which 30 minutes were spent at the border crossings. The cost of the trip was €19. I was kind tired after my active last two days; the bus ride was a nice break.

The “bus station” in Shkoder is no station at all, just a designated spot to pull over on a main boulevard in the city center. (I shouldn’t be condescending though, that’s the same process used by Badger Bus for the trip to O’Hare from the UW Campus!)

I arrived too early to check in to my hotel, so I ended up strolling over to a nearby park to relax. It was a nice day, and the park was pretty crowded – all the benches in the shade were taken. I ended up finding some cover under a tree.

Conveniently, my hotel was a 5 minute walk from the park…

And per my routine, I did a little walking around this evening…

Travel Note: It is recommended that foreign visitors do not drink the tap water in Albania.

Sidenote: The Olivier Awards (the West End equivalent of the Tonys) was held last night in London. And coming as no surprise to me, Sarah Snook was named Best Actress for her one-woman performance of 26 different roles in The Picture Of Dorian Gray. Well deserved! (there are rumors that the show will be heading to Broadway; could a Tony be in her future as well?) And I was also fortunate enough to attend a performance by the Best Actor winner, Mark Gatiss, in The Motive And The Cue.

Trivia: For those of you who are fans of the TV series Sherlock that starred Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Gatiss is a co-creator of the show. He also portrayed Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft. And if you’re not familiar with Sherlock, I recommend that you check it out!

Tuesday, April 16 – Shkoder

After a leisurely breakfast, I headed out on a one hour walk to visit Rozafa Castle.

On my way to the Castle, I came across a…

Here are some views of the surrounding area from the Castle…

Shkoder Lake is the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula and, as you’ve seen in my posts, is located in both Montenegro and Albania.

I ended up walking around a little bit, but was honestly feeling a little tired. I did make one (actually two) stop on the way back to the hotel…

It was nap time when I got back to the hotel! And when I woke it was raining; a perfect excuse to stay in and work on a journal entry.

Saturday, April 13 – Kotor

Another fine breakfast selection to start my day. I’m getting spoiled!

The calories will come in handy today because I’m going to hike The Ladder of Kotor. The rocky path climbs up the mountainside in a series of switchbacks between the Scurda Canyon and the Fortress Walls of the Old Town of Kotor. The Ladder of Kotor (aka the Ladder of Cattaro) is a historic mule track, which was built in the 19th century by the Austrians, in order to connect Kotor with Njeguši and Cetinje, Montenegro’s former royal capital.

I didn’t hike the complete Ladder of Kotor trail to Krsac and the P1 Road. Instead, I opted to turn around at the “Top of the Kotor Ladder” viewpoint, which was plenty long enough for me!

The trailhead isn’t physically marked, but fortunately it is identified in Google Maps!

I took my time at the top, and actually found a tree that I could sit beneath and rest for a while. Perfect!

After a couple minutes more of our stare down, the pair became bored and decided to go look for something to eat. Whew!

There’s a interesting story behind the trail that you can see running diagonally over to the walls of the Fortress. Access to the interior of the fortress is from sea level near the Kotor Old Town. The entrance fee is €15. In the past, people would ascend the Ladder of Kotor trail and then divert over to the Fortress via the trail seen here. They would then enter the Fortress through the window in the wall, thereby avoiding the entrance fee! Well, the folks running the Fortress caught on to this, and now when visitors exit the Fortress they’re required to show their ticket. If they don’t have one, they’re charged €15. (I suppose someone could sneak back OUT of the Fortress through the window!)

The trek back down to the trailhead took 90 minutes. A little quicker due to the aid of gravity (duh!), but I also spent less time taking pictures.

The Old Town of Kotor is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And it is like a maze walking through there. I got lost many times. (And I had to go in there because that’s where my hotel was located. But I loved it!)

Here are a couple photos from the Old Town as I made my way back from the trail to the hotel…

After resting up, I went back out and walked around the town a little bit.

Sunday, April 14 – Kotor

Today I’m going to make the short trip around the bay to the town of Perast. My options for getting there are:

• Taxi, 15 minutes, €20
• Bus, 30 minutes, €2
• Bike, about 45 minutes, not sure of bike rental cost
• Walk, about 2 3/4 hours per Google Maps, free

You know there’s no way I’m taking a taxi! And I wouldn’t be comfortable riding a bike amongst the reckless drivers here. So, that leaves bus or walk? I actually thought I might do both; take the bus there, and walk back. I like the idea of walking because I could then take my time and enjoy the views along the bay. Plus, the buses only run every two hours on Sundays, so I may be able to walk most of the way back before a bus even shows up!

Now, the only drawback regarding the bus option is the fact that they’re known to run notoriously late, or sometimes they don’t even show up at all! But I’m feeling adventurous, so let’s give it a shot. The timetable indicates a 9:18am pickup just outside the Old Town near my hotel. I’m at the stop at 9:10, waiting with four other folks. And to my surprise (joy), here comes the bus at 9:22! Awesome! Twenty-five minutes later I was dropped off in Perast.

I was a little confused by the location in the photo though. It states Bay of Kotor, so I associated that with the town of Kotor. Not so fast! After arriving in Kotor on Friday, I walked around the waterfront looking for this bell tower, with no success. What the… After doing a little research, I discovered that the photo was taken in Perast, which I had planned on visiting anyway. The plan comes together! (stupid, but lucky!)

This is a very small town! (The population of Perast is 269) Here are some scenes from my walkabout…

There is also a water taxi service going out to one of the two islets off the coast of Perast, called Our Lady of the Rocks. The service is continuous, with boats running every 20 minutes back and forth. The round trip fare was €5.

Okay, I think I’ve explored all I can of Perast! Time to begin the walk back to Kotor.

With all of my sightseeing, the walk ended up taking 3 1/2 hours. But it was well worth it, don’t you think?

Today was great! In fact, these past two days in Kotor have been a blast! (and the beautiful weather certainly contributed to that!)

Travel Note: If you’re interested in traveling to Kotor, be aware that it is a cruise ship destination. I was lucky in that no ships were docked during most of my stay. One finally did arrive on Sunday afternoon. I checked the Kotor port schedule before I set my Montenegro itinerary though, and was happy that most of my stay would be cruise ship free!

Thursday, April 11 – transit from London to Podgorica, Montenegro

I’m back to Heathrow this morning, so you know what that means. The SL9! I have a 9am departure; that required a little bit of an early wake up to get out of the flat by around 6:30. Not terrible though.

I’m on Austrian Airlines again, connecting through Vienna to Podgorica, Montenegro. The price of the one-way fare was $176. So, the connection is going to be interesting because I only have a 30 minute layover. I normally avoid this big time, but the next flight wasn’t until later in the evening. (And knowing me, I’m sure cost was a major driver in the decision as well! I can’t remember exactly?) Plus, Austrian allowed me to book the itinerary, so it must be legit, right?

And it’s not starting off well because we already have a 10 minute delay departing Heathrow. We can make this up in the air, right? Yes, we did! Also helpful was the fact that the plane was only half full. That should make deplaning quicker. But wait, the plane isn’t pulling up to a gate, we’re stopping on the tarmac. Another bus to terminal transfer. I’m doomed!

Just as I’m mentally preparing to camp out at Vienna Airport, and for a late night arrival in Podgorica, a lifeline appears as I exit the aircraft in the form of a special mini van at the ready to take me and four other Podgorica passengers directly to our plane, which also happens to be parked on the tarmac. Brilliant! Thank you Austrian Airlines! (Fortunately I didn’t have any checked bags; not sure if they would have made the connection!)

The flight to Podgorica took one hour and the A320 was about 3/4 full.

And here are a couple views from the flight into Podgorica…

Another quick transit through immigration; not a single question from the officer. Where were these people last year when everybody in the Caribbean had these big concerns about my return or onward ticket (out of their country)?!?

And I hate to say it, but I took a taxi from the airport to my hotel. It killed me! It was basically the only option. There is train service to the Podgorica city center, but the stop was a 20 minute walk from the airport. I know, I wimped out. The 15 minute taxi ride cost me €15.

The research I did about Podgorica indicated it wasn’t a place really worth visiting. I had some time to kill though, so I absolutely had to get out and roam a bit!

Travel Note: The Europe eSIM data plan I have doesn’t include Montenegro and Albania, so I bought a Europe Extended eSIM with 3Gb of data for $19. Its validity is 15 days. The nice thing is that the two eSIMs can run concurrently, without having to manually switch back and forth between them.

Friday, April 12 – transit from Podgorica to Kotor

I have a busy day of travel ahead of me. But first…

So, today I’m going to take a train from Podgorica to Bar and then catch a bus from Bar to Kotor. Now, I could have just taken a bus from Podgorica to Kotor, but I read that the train ride is pretty nice. Plus, I’m a sucker for trains! There are multiple train departures to Bar, so I chose to leave at the not-too-early time of 11:35am.

The train cars were configured with a corridor on one side and enclosed, 6-seat compartments on the other. In the scrum of boarding the train, I was able to snag a window seat in a compartment. Sweet!

That was fun! The train was packed upon boarding in Podgorica, but was only about 1/3 full by the time we reached Bar. Now I’m off to the Bar Bus Station!

The ride lasted a little over 2 hours. There were some pretty views of the Adriatic Coast along the way; it’s tough though to get decent pictures from a bus (reflections, generally blurry). Plus, I sat on the wrong side of the bus for the direct views! (I’m an idiot!) I technically could have switched to the other side of the bus, the seats weren’t reserved. I liked where I was sitting though; in the back row, which had extra legroom due to the emergency exit door. And there was already someone sitting on the opposite side window when I boarded the bus.

My hotel in Kotor is located in the Old Town and is only a 10 minute walk from the bus station. No taxis today people!

Here are a few photos from the walk…

I was kind of tired after my day of traveling, but I did go out for a short walk around…

Monday, April 8 through Wednesday, April 10 – Harrow on the Hill

I’ve just been hanging out on the Hill these few days. I’ve done a trip decompress, worked on a journal entry, and got ready to go on my next (and last) trip. Tomorrow I’m heading to Montenegro, and will follow that on to Albania. I’ll be away 9 days this time, so I’ll be taking the laptop with me and posting updates along the way (otherwise it would take forever to get caught up when I return!).

I expect to do several short entries while I’m on the trip, so you can look forward to hearing from me again in a couple days! (or dread it!)

Tuesday, April 2 – transit from London to Bratislava, Slovakia

I’m back to Heathrow on the SL9 this morning. Fortunately my flight doesn’t depart until 10am, so I don’t have to leave the flat super early. I’m flying into Vienna and then taking the short bus or train ride from the airport across the border into Slovakia and the city of Bratislava. The non-stop flight on Austrian Airlines took 2 hours, and the round trip airfare was $290.

Travel Note: I’ve talked previously about the minimal legroom on the British Airways A320s. Well the Austrian Airlines A320s on this trip were much more comfortable. Just sayin’, in case you ever have a choice between the two!

I had another quick transition through immigration in Vienna. The only question I was asked was whether or not I was staying in the city. When I told the officer that I was going on to Bratislava, she waived me through. I tried to explain that I was coming back to Vienna later in the week, but there was no interest.

Upon arrival at the Vienna airport I checked in at the Information Desk to find out the best way to get to Bratislava. They recommended taking the bus, showing me the schedule and stating that I could pay the driver. The next bus was due in about 20 minutes, so I went outside to the designated platform and waited for its arrival. Well, when I went to buy a ticket from the driver, he told me that the bus was fully booked. Doh! Luckily the wait for the next bus was only an hour. And after learning my lesson (I’m quick!), I immediately went online and booked a ticket for the next departure.

With time to kill, I went back into the terminal to roam around a bit. A short time later there was a little drama…

The bus ride in a comfortable coach to the Bratislava Central Bus Station took one hour and cost €12 ($13). Of note is the fact that there was no immigration check at the border crossing between Austria and Slovakia. This is due to both countries being part of the Schengen Agreement – an area encompassing 29 European countries that have eliminated controls at their common borders.

After arrival at the bus station, the short walk to my hotel took 20 minutes.

I was kind of tired from the trip, but did get out for a little bit to stroll the area around the hotel.

Wednesday, April 3 and Thursday, April 4 – Bratislava

I’m combining both Wednesday and Thursday into one entry because I basically did the same thing on both days; you guessed it – walked around! And Bratislava is a great place for walking. The city is very compact, and the streets are marked exceptionally well (not always the case). I was planning on taking the short drive out of the city on Thursday to visit Devin Castle, however, when I checked their website on Thursday morning it stated that they were closed for the day (normally open on Thursdays). Anyway, I’m glad I checked and didn’t waste my time going there! (And thanks Devin Castle for updating your website!)

(Devin Castle originated in the 9th century and was ultimately left in ruins during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.)

Sidenote: I’m a little concerned as to whether or not this postcard is going to make it to Virginia! The clerk I gave the postcard to took my money, but did not apply a stamp to the card (she did write something on the card though where the stamp would normally be placed), and subsequently dropped the card into something beneath her desk (a trash can?). Hopefully I’m just overreacting! I’ll let you know!

It was an enjoyable performance! And like in Sofia, English subtitles were provided (bonus!). I have to admit though that I was a little disappointed in the venue. The interior just seemed a little sterile. And it’s not that I’m adverse to modern design. Not at all. As a comparison, I used the Overture Center and Hamel Music Center in Madison, both relatively new facilities that I’m familiar with. Both, in my opinion, have much more pleasing designs (inside and out). But I’m pretty sure nobody in Bratislava cares what I think!

Sidenote: I may be giving you the impression that I’m a huge opera fan. That’s not the case. I just enjoy checking out different venues, and attending a performance meets that objective (when the price is right!). The symphony would work equally well. But that form of entertainment is more accessible than the opera is to me in Madison, so I’m trying to take advantage of the opportunity traveling to these locations offers me. Plus, I like seeing the sets and costumes of the opera!

Slovakia/Bratislava Notes

• The population of Bratislava is around 450,000
• Slovak is the local language, but I had no problem speaking English with everyone I encountered in Bratislava
• Slovakia (and Austria) is one hour ahead of London
• There are not nearly as many smokers in Bratislava, compared to the other eastern European cities I visited this winter. A good thing!
• My interaction with the locals was good; generally very friendly

Friday, April 5 – transit from Bratislava to Vienna

I’m back on the bus to Vienna today. The departure isn’t until noon, so I enjoyed a leisurely morning. And yes, I booked my bus ticket two days ago to make sure I had a reserved seat! (and it’s a good thing I did, the bus was filled to the max!)

Here are a couple photos from the Bratislava Central Bus Station…

The bus company has learned some tricks from the airlines and charges extra for selecting your own seat. I balked and ended up in the middle seat of the back row (5 across). I was a little bit squished, but the nice part was that the aisle was in front of me, so I had plenty of legroom!

The route of this bus took us back to the airport, but I stayed onboard until it reached its final destination – Wien Hauptbahnhof (Vienna Central Station). The ride took 90 minutes and cost €10. It’s interesting though, unlike the uninterrupted border crossing into Slovakia a few days ago, today the bus was stopped at the Austrian border for a check by immigration officers. It went really quickly though, and we were on our way. Worth noting: the immigration officers spoke only one language to the passengers – English (not Slovak, not German).

It was a nice day, and I was a little early for check-in, so I decided to walk from the station to my hotel. That took about an hour, but I wasn’t moving very fast, taking in the sights as I went along.

Like my first night in Bratislava, I went out for a little while to take in the sights.

Sidenote: I’ve been to Vienna previously. I had to go back and check my log to figure out when. It was in the fall of 2007, and I combined it with a trip to Switzerland and Prague.

Saturday, April 6 – Vienna

While I was waiting for the bus at the Vienna airport a few days ago I picked up a booklet from the tourist office that featured various self-guided walking tours. The weather is beautiful; that seems like the perfect activity for me today. And based on the crowds I saw last night, I think I’m going to choose routes that are kind of off the beaten path.

The first tour I’ve chosen takes me on the Ringstrasse – a circular grand boulevard that serves as a ring road around the historic Innere Stadt district.

After taking a little break back at the hotel, my next walking tour covered an area where the 1873 World’s Fair was held.

Travel Note: The high temperature here today was 78 degrees. I’m pretty sure that’s the warmest it’s been for me so far on this escape. A little different than my previous winter trips! (but I’m not complaining!)

Sunday, April 7 – transit from Vienna to London

My flight back to London isn’t until early afternoon; I’m a man of leisure this morning!

My transfer to the airport will be by train. The station was a 15 minute walk from the hotel, and trip to the airport took 30 minutes. The cost: €4.40. (avoiding taxis is the best!)

And of course I took the SL9 back to the flat from Heathrow (not a very crowded bus on a Sunday afternoon!).

This was a fun trip! And the weather once again cooperated. Thank you Mother Nature!

Walking Summary

I did a LOT of walking on this trip, as I’m sure you know I like to do. Here are my daily step counts:

• Tuesday: 18k (travel day)
• Wednesday: 30k
• Thursday: 27k
• Friday: 22k (travel day)
• Saturday: 30k
• Sunday: 11k (travel day)

Friday, March 29 – Harrow on the Hill

The tours of London buildings continues. I have two booked today, both at The British Library. The first covers their holdings, and the second focuses on the building itself. Each tour lasted about 75 minutes and cost £10. There were about a dozen people in each tour.

With more than 150 million items in its collection, The British Library is the second largest library in the World, trailing only the Library of Congress. If you’re interested, here’s a link to a listing of the Top Ten.

The items below are displayed in the library’s Treasures Gallery. This was part of the guided tour, but the room is also open to the public during normal library hours.

This was a fun day exploring the library!

Saturday, March 30 – Harrow on the Hill

My manic tours of various London buildings concludes today. I’m guessing you’re relieved by that statement. Apologies if I’ve bored you to death!

I’m back to the Palace of Westminster (The Houses of Parliament) for a rare treat – a tour of The Speaker’s House. This tour is only offered during the long Easter weekend, and occasionally during the summer when the speaker is away.

The house is three stories tall, with the top floor being the residence of the Speaker. The second floor is used for administrative purposes, and our tour covered the first floor. The rooms viewed were the Speaker’s Study, the Crimson Drawing Room, the Corner Drawing Room, the State Dining Room, and the State Bedroom. All were very opulent and contained portraits of past Speakers, as well as gifts from visiting dignitaries. The State Dining Room was especially impressive (as you can imagine).

The State Bedroom is meant to be the place where the monarch sleeps the night before their coronation in Westminster Abbey. Apparently though King Charles choose not to participate in this tradition (our guide said that the bed is very uncomfortable!)

The tour lasted 75 minutes. There were 14 of us, and the cost was £20. Here’s a link to UK Parliament’s website with more information on The Speaker’s House, if you’re interested.

As with the other tours in the Palace of Westminster, no photography was allowed.

Below are a couple photos from my visit to the Palace. I’m pretty sure I’ve posted similar pictures from this trip already, but I just can’t resist!

As you can see, it was a beautiful day. I did a lot of walking, mainly in the area to the west of the Palace, avoiding the crowds around Westminster Bridge, Westminster Abbey and St. James’s Park.

Sunday, March 31 – Harrow on the Hill

Ended up staying on the Hill today. Pretty much low key. Did go for a walk though!

Monday, April 1 – Harrow on the Hill

Busy day! Laundry, flat cleaning, 1st quarter financial stuff, journal entry, and prep for my trip tomorrow.

I’m heading to Slovakia and Austria for a few days. No laptop again. I’m back on Sunday, so I’ll likely have the next entry posted on the following Tuesday or Wednesday. Have a great week!